Prior to the 2004 college football season, the Manning Award was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in honor of the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. It is the only college football quarterback award that includes the candidates' bowl performances in its balloting; therefore, it is presented annually following the completion of the bowl season. The winner is selected by a panel of national media covering college football, as well as each of the Mannings.

Previous winners of The Manning Award include Matt Leinart, Tim Tebow and Robert Griffin III.

The watch list used a new ESPN ratings tool to determine its finalists. ESPN released a Total Quarterback Rating (QBR) for the top 30 QBs returning to the NCAA. Total QBR measures a quarterback's contributions on each play, such as passing, rushing and fumbles, while accounting for game elements such as the down, distance, yard line and score. The rating is based on a 0-100 scale, with 50 being average.

Kelly's QBR last season was 65.7, third-highest in the Pac 12, according to ESPN. He placed in the top 25 on ESPN's list.

Kelly is one of nine Sun Devils who have earned a spot on a preseason watch list this summer. Kelly has also been named to watch lists for the O'Brien Award and the Maxwell Award.